A lady at Sheetz was pumping E85 into an older Toyota Prius (it was $3.09 a gallon way cheaper than non-E85) and pumped over 6 gallons. Toyota only has a couple E85 certified vehicles and Priuses are not one of them. I know E85 will burn in about any vehicle BUT what will it do to all the new fangled sensors and such in today’s vehicles?
E85 In A Vehicle Not Certified E85???
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recreationalhandgrenade
Well-Known Member
If your injectors aren't big enough ain't no amount of sensor gonna make them squirt more corn juice. If you're not trying to make power there's no reason to be messing with e85
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Biggest thing is the air to fuel ratio. Short term
E85 vehicles have ss valves and different abilities to take care of the fuel to air mix.
So I've been told
Aardvark
Identifies as okie-dokie
Just passing along FWIW: The service manager at Flow Subaru in Winston Salem told me back in June they've had an outbreak of "don't run right" complaints this Summer and the common denominator is E85 from Sheetz.
I've got no personal experince with it.
I've got no personal experince with it.
Quite a few of E85 vehicles fuel components are SS or E85 “friendly” materials. E85 over time can actually active like a corrosive liquid to rubber/polymer seals and tubing as well as an oxidizer to aluminum. I was wondering more along the lines of what one maybe two tanks could do to non E85 vehicles (especially early 2000’s) sensors that trip warning lights and mess with emissions.
The woman just peaked my curiosity because I’m guessing she ain’t the first nor will be the last to fill up with E85 … hell half the drivers don’t understand what the vehicle having a yellow filler cap means.
I see them in the shop sometimes. Usually run ok or lacking power,and they set a check engine light with lean codes. I drain and add correct fuel and have never experienced any damage
Fyi Google for the exact details but you can test for ethanol by taking a fuel sample like a water bottle. Add a small amount of water. Shake it up. The part that separates is hydrocarbons or 'gas'. The part that mixes with the water is ethanol. It should be about 10 percent or less
It shouldn’t “hurt” anything if the car is newer than 2000 MY (maybe a bit earlier even). The materials that are damaged by ethanol were phased out when winter blends included ethanol. It won’t run well, it will get worse mileage than a car tuned to E85, so there is no upside in doing it unless you’re literally down to your last $30 and you need to get to work.
Phase separation is the industry term
recreationalhandgrenade
Well-Known Member
It should be the last. At best you're throwing your money down the drain with fuel thats gonna kill your mileage.
Les White
Less is more
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Nothing to see here folks. It's just a liberal, driving a Prius, doing something stupid.
I like filling up my diesel sedan and having people ask me what the green stuff is. I say it gets me way better mileage than gasoline, and puts out way less hydrocarbons that gasoline, and is way better for the environment! Hoping that, maybe, on their next fill-up.....
I like filling up my diesel sedan and having people ask me what the green stuff is. I say it gets me way better mileage than gasoline, and puts out way less hydrocarbons that gasoline, and is way better for the environment! Hoping that, maybe, on their next fill-up.....
Aardvark
Identifies as okie-dokie
That's what I've heard: Even "E85 compliant" vehicles get slightly worse fuel mileage on E85. The long-term "other results" are in too: burning ethanol in your tank does nothing helpful for carbon emissions,"the ozone hole" or any of the other things in the the climate-hysterics liturgy, but it DOES seem to make more Smog, which can be problematic if you live in a Smog-prone area like the LA Basin.
The only upside is for grain producers who will likely continue to enjoy the artificially inflated world-market prices as long as Archer Daniels Midland's lobbyists have plenty of money for the Uniparty. Doesn't help those starving in the third world at all.
recreationalhandgrenade
Well-Known Member
It'll make more power beacuse it's like 105 octane. Corn is great for anti knock and what we use instead of lead right now.
I think corn juice is cool but it's pointless for your grocery getter
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Les White
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My Crown Vic was E85 certified. The difference in mileage and power between "regular" and "E15" was unnoticeable and I used E15 whenever I had the option - it was usually 15% cheaper than regular.
E85 was usually 20-30% cheaper than regular, I didn't notice any difference in power but I also didn't drive it hard. I DID notice E85 yielded 20-30% LESS mileage. On a tank of regular or E15 I could do ~400 miles, E85 and I was stopping to fill up around ~300 miles.
Jenny's suburban is E85 compliant, she fills up with E15 whenever it's available. She doesn't notice any difference and she drives like a methed up Richard Petty, or maybe Anne Hech.
E85 was usually 20-30% cheaper than regular, I didn't notice any difference in power but I also didn't drive it hard. I DID notice E85 yielded 20-30% LESS mileage. On a tank of regular or E15 I could do ~400 miles, E85 and I was stopping to fill up around ~300 miles.
Jenny's suburban is E85 compliant, she fills up with E15 whenever it's available. She doesn't notice any difference and she drives like a methed up Richard Petty, or maybe Anne Hech.
recreationalhandgrenade
Well-Known Member
An Extra 5% of corn is going to be pretty hard to measure. If the price is significantly different on 15% corn it could be worth it.
Oldest misconception going, that old octane thing.
In the simplest of terms, less power/btu available per unit the higher that the octane goes, if nothing else changes.
What higher octane has going for it is that is less combustible, less susceptible to detonation allowing more spark advance, higher compression, better cam curve grinds, etc without inducing knock.
Just putting e85 in a regular car will almost certainly get you instantly out of the knock sensor/spark advance/o2 sensor window.
I've heard a story, in some variation, a thousand times of "My buddy and I would go to the airport and fill up his Chevelle with AV gas and then go kick everybody's ass racing"
Unless they re-jetted and and dumped in a ton of spark advance, just for starters, they got worse performance and are nothing but lying idiots.
Ethanol has about 30% less energy per unit volume than gasoline. Every 10% of ethanol blend is about 3% less energy per gallon.
E15 would be ~95.5% the energy of gasoline. At 15% cheaper, that would be worth it.
E85 would be ~75.5% the energy of gasoline, so you were dead on to get 20-30% less mileage (~24.5%).
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recreationalhandgrenade
Well-Known Member
With modern turbo cars some are smart enough to adjustthings to make more use out of better fuel. Lots of stuff out now de tunes itself for 87 automatically.
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Octane doesn't make power.
recreationalhandgrenade
Well-Known Member
Octane means you can make more power. You go throw timing at stuff running on 87 and tell me how it goes
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Few months ago same thing with a Sentra, temp tags, woman going to damage the fuel lines with the extra alcohol.
Had a rental care a few years ago, that car got lousy mileage and drank gas, I filled up with regular and got normal MPG, last renter tried to save a few bucks at fill-up.
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recreationalhandgrenade
Well-Known Member
Just stop using def
Higher octane makes more power in cars that were designed or modified for it. Advanced timing, turbocharged or supercharged and high compression engines typically. Does nothing positive at all for unmodified cars designed for 87 octane.